E-readers are a blessing for avid readers, as they allow you to carry all your favorite books in a convenient form, access the latest book titles, and avoid straining your eyes by reading on traditional screens. Among e-readers, Amazon’s Kindle devices dominate the market for several reasons, the top reason being quality. The Kindle Paperwhite is one of the more popular devices in the series, and we want to address a known issue — the Kindle Paperwhite won’t charge. So let’s take a look at possible reasons, troubleshooting methods, and fixes.
If you find your Kindle Paperwhite won’t charge, our first suggestion would be to connect it to your charger and let it rest for a while. After about 30 to 45 minutes, check if the Kindle is charging. If you’re still facing issues, test the charger and cable too, on a different device, if possible. A final resort would be to hard reset your Kindle Paperwhite. If that does not work, you may need to replace the battery.
Kindle Paperwhite Won’t Charge: Possible Causes
While the Kindle Paperwhite can last for weeks without charge, users should charge their readers periodically to avoid a situation where the device is unusable. And being unable to do so can be really aggravating, so let’s take a look at the usual suspects.
Depleted battery
If you haven’t charged your Kindle Paperwhite for a really long time, the battery may be drained. A battery icon with an exclamation mark on your Kindle’s display means exactly this. So while it may seem like the Kindle Paperwhite isn’t charging, it just needs to be connected to the charger for some time so that the battery can be revived properly.
If your battery is damaged or faulty, you should see orange and green lights blinking near your charging port. This automatically means that you need a battery replacement.
Bad charging cable
You’d be surprised at how common the issue of damaged charging cables is. There are quite a few mentions on the internet of the charging cable for the Kindle Paperwhite going kaput, so you may want to test it with another device. If possible, borrow an alternate cable and try charging your Kindle Paperwhite again to ascertain whether the first cable was faulty.
Bad charger/charging plug
After you test the cable, it makes sense to point fingers at the charger next. Try to get your hands on an alternate charging block, and attempt to charge your Kindle Paperwhite. If this doesn’t work, try a new charger and a new cable as well, because in the rare case that both cable and charger are malfunctioning, you will know for sure.
Kindle Paperwhite Won’t Charge: How to Fix
So your Kindle Paperwhite won’t charge, and we’ve taken a look at all the possible causes, but how do you fix it? Let’s start the troubleshooting process with a method as simple as it is effective — the ol’ restart.
Restart the Kindle
Regardless of whether your Kindle is on or off, we recommend trying this method to see if we can get your Kindle to charge again. Because sometimes, when you think your Kindle Paperwhite is off, it might just be a frozen display. And if you find your Kindle unresponsive or unable to turn on, we recommend you read our article about fixing a Kindle Paperwhite that won’t turn on.
To restart or soft reset the Kindle, all you need to do is hold the power button on your Kindle Paperwhite for about 40 seconds and then let go. Your reader should then power on automatically, but if it does not, just press the power button again for about 3 seconds. Next, you should see the Kindle logo appear on your screen. After a minute or so, try connecting the charger to see if it works.
Here’s a video about the restart method on a Kindle if you’d like a video guide:
Charge battery
If your Kindle reader shows you the Charge Battery icon, which is a battery with an exclamation mark on it, just connect the charger and let it rest for about an hour or more. Ideally, it should power on by itself, but try the above method of soft resetting your tablet if it does not. Also, check if the orange charging indicator near the USB port turns on, indicating that your Kindle Paperwhite is charging properly.
Check your charging port
The next task to try would be to check the USB port on the Kindle Paperwhite to see if there is anything physically blocking the charging pins. People tend to keep their Kindles in bags and cases, and there is always a chance that a bit of lint found its way into the port. You can clean this out with a toothpick or a non-static brush and try charging again.
Reconnect USB cable
You might be unable to charge your Kindle for a simple reason, like the charging cable or charging block is faulty. As we mentioned earlier, these accessories have been known to fail, so definitely test both of them separately if you can. Also, check if the cable plugs in properly because if the connectors are damaged, it might be struggling to connect with your reader’s port.
Factory reset Kindle
If you’ve already tried the suggestions above, we must try a factory reset next. Unfortunately, a factory or hard reset is possible only if the tablet is switched on, as the function is accessible only via the menu.
To do this, you need to go to your tablet’s Settings, tap Device Options, and then tap the Menu button again. You will see a Reset option, so go ahead and select that. Your Kindle will ask you to confirm your action, so tap Yes or Ok to proceed with the hard reset. Note that a factory wipe will erase all the content from your device, but if you back up your data to the cloud, you can just download it again after the reset procedure is complete.
Your Kindle Paperwhite should come back to the original setup screen after the factory reset. You can follow on-screen instructions to set it up again. Once you’re done, you can download the backup you took earlier from the Settings menu. Then, try connecting your charger again.
Amazon Customer Service
It’s time to reach out to Amazon if the steps above did not help fix the charging issue with your Kindle Paperwhite. So go ahead and contact Amazon customer support to see what additional troubleshooting steps they can provide you with. You can get the battery replaced if you’re under warranty, no questions asked. If not, your customer rep may offer you a deal on repairs, too, so make sure you ask about it. While you’re at it, try asking if you can get a replacement. It’s worth a shot!
Here’s the Amazon customer support page for Kindle.
Kindle Battery Replacement
Swapping out the battery on the Kindle Paperwhite is relatively easy, as most sellers send a custom tool along with the replacement battery. If you’ve concluded that it’s a battery issue that is causing your Kindle to not charge properly, go ahead and shop for a battery online or at an electronics store nearby. Make sure you ask for the correct battery for the Paperwhite, specifically. And if you need to watch a video tutorial on changing the battery, you’ll find quite a few on YouTube!
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I revive a dead Kindle Paperwhite?
If your Kindle Paperwhite is dead, try holding the power button for about 40 seconds to soft reset the reader. If this fails, connect your charger and let it rest for about an hour, and try powering up the device again.
How do I revive a dead Kindle?
Try charging it to revive a dead Kindle, as the issue might be as simple as the battery being depleted. Also, make sure your charger and cable are working correctly by testing with other gadgets. Finally, if all else fails, try a restart by keeping the power button pressed for about 40 seconds.
Why does my Kindle Paperwhite have a battery with an exclamation point?
This icon only appears when your Kindle Paperwhite’s battery is fully drained. All you need to do is plug in your charger and let it sit for an hour or more. Your tablet should automatically restart, but just press the power button if it doesn’t.
How do I know if my Kindle battery needs replacing?
If you’ve already tried resetting the reader, you’ve checked the battery cable and charging block, and you’ve tried a factory reset, it might be time to replace the battery. If the charging indicator is blinking orange and green alternatively, that also means that you need a battery replacement.
Conclusion
That about wraps up our article on getting your Kindle reader working again if it stops charging. If you find your Kindle Paperwhite won’t charge, just try each of the steps above, and hopefully, you’ll have it working flawlessly once again! For any additional questions that you may have about your Kindle, feel free to leave us a comment below and check back for our response!
Related Read: Our Kindle Paperwhite vs Oasis comparison
THANKS! I thought I was going to have a panic attack when my Kindle appeared not to be charging. Fortunately the screen was just a frozen display. The 40 second restart did the trick, much to my relief. Again, thank you, thank you, thank you!
We’re super happy that our article helped you out, that’s what we write these articles for! Take care, Ginger, and thanks for letting us know!
This worked! Thank you!!! It took 3 tries, but it’s working again.
That’s music to our ears, Mark, thanks for letting us know! We’ve covered common Kindle issues extensively so if your Kindle runs into trouble again, just go through our articles or drop us a comment, and we’ll respond. Happy browsing!